Searching for my Soul's Second Half
by FX102
Summary: Five years have gone by. With a friend's eighteenth birthday to attend, Yoh is determined to use this as a chance to propose to Anna; but thanks to an old lady, an Itako's pride and a huge selection of local brew, things don't go exactly as planned.
1. Are We Going?

**Searching for my Soul's Second Half**

Disclaimer: I don't even own this computer I'm using, let alone the rights to an anime series, its characters, etc.  
  
Pairings: Primarily it's a Yoh x Anna fic, though I will be popping in some others (all straight though).

Spoilers: I will make references to occurrences in the series, so you have been warned.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations, swearing and perhaps some violence later on.  
  
Note: The story takes place five years after the series, and hence the majority of the characters are between sixteen and eighteen.

Personal Comments: This is my first fic, though I wanted start big so instead of a one-shot, I chose to do a long, multi-chapter fic. I hope everyone enjoys it and I'll accept all types of reviews and if anyone has ideas or requests, feel free to make them known to me. I promise you that no longer how long it takes, **I** **will finish it**.

**Prologue**

Cemeteries. To most people, these are places of sorrow and remorse, the final destination in the great journey that is life, and a place where they a remembered by those who have yet to reach the end. No one really likes to visit a cemetery; for it has the effect of causing people to remember the wrong memories at the wrong time. If one were to discuss these memories, you may find it confusing as to why they are feeling so sad, as it almost sounds like the memory is one of joy and happiness. Yet it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together, to find out why that person is sad. Yes, Cemeteries are places of sadness and death. Or so to most people...

To one teenager, the local cemetery has been a place of fun and interest. Since he was a young boy, he spent as much of his free time as possible at the cemetery, enjoying himself and finding out about ages past. How is this possible you ask? How can one boy have so much fun alone in a cemetery? Ah well, you see, he is not alone...and he is no ordinary teenager; he is a Shaman.

**Chapter 1: Are we Going?**

The sun was setting slowly in the West, the sky turning a crimson red, and bathed in what light could still be seen across the Tokyo skyline. The towering buildings almost seemed to piercing the night sky as the stars began to appear. This was the view ahead of one person, lying against the grand oak-tree in the middle of Funbari Cemetery, located on a small cliff near the city's outskirts.

In years gone by, many passers-by noticed a young, spiky-haired boy in such a position. With the wind in his face, he'd sit for hours on end watching the world go by. Now, five years had gone by, yet during these years he continued to return to the exact same spot, and the previous image made way for one of a more mature looking young man.

Whilst he still kept his trademark orange headphones, and black claw necklace, he had traded in his green trousers with the upturned hems for a similar, yet smarter pair without the turn-ups. His wooden sandals also made way for a pair of brown shoes, whilst his shirt was still of light cream colour, yet he wore it with a bit more dignity and more buttons done up.

But if there was one thing that hadn't changed it was his personality, his love for life and enjoyment of all things fun. This was the lifestyle of Yoh Asakura, the Shaman King.

As the Sun continued to set, a figure began to materialise next to Yoh. Clad in his ancient samurai armour, with his two katanas by his side, the spirit known as Amidamaru faced the relaxed shaman.

"Yoh-dono, isn't it about time we head back? It's getting late" he asked with concern.

Yoh, chuckled and stretched his arms, "True, but its so relaxing here, I swear I could remain here all my life."

"But what about Anna?" the spirit continued, "She isn't gonna be happy to hear you've been goofing off again."

"I don't get it" he sighed, "the Shaman tournament is over and there isn't gonna be another one, at least not for another five hundred years, by which time I'll be in the same shoes as you."

"And at least by then you don't have to worry about Anna killing you anymore" joked the spirit.

Yoh laughed at his friend's witty remarks, yet he couldn't help think about his fiancé. They had been living together for almost five years. Originally she was his trainer, preparing for the upcoming challenges in the Shaman Tournament. He knew that if it wasn't for her back-breaking training scheme, he probably would never have survived round one.

However, although the tournament was over, she insisted that he continue, albeit on a slightly toned down level, yet still tougher than the training many professional athletes undertake. So why did he agree to do it? Well, she may have had her own reasons, but Yoh had one simple reason for agreeing; it was all for her.

Years ago, he had taken their engagement for granted; yet as time passed he began to grow considerably fond of the young Itako. It wasn't long that he began to have these strange feelings whenever he spoke to her or even just looked at her; feelings of excitement, nervousness, happiness, concern, all rolled into one. For weeks he questioned what it was until one evening, whilst listening to the radio that he realised what it was...Love. He had fallen in love with her, something he thought would be hard to do, yet here it was, happening to him. He was now all the more determined to make her his wife, and trained hard to protect her and support her for the rest of their life together. As long as it was all for her, he'd train till the end of time itself, for that was where his heart lead him.

"Yoh-dono, are you okay?"

Yoh blinked as his images of his beloved were replaced by that of Amidamaru; "sorry Amidamaru, I was just thinking, anyway, lets head on home."

The young shaman stood up, brushed his trousers of any dust and began the walk home with his spirit in tow.

The clock struck eight o'clock, much to the annoyance of the young woman angrily glaring at it.

"That guy better get his lazy arse through those doors in ten seconds, or I will not be held responsible for what happens in here tonight" she growled.

She may be her fiancée, but Anna was still the no-nonsense 'master' of this house-hold, and she was determined to stamp her authority. Whilst many people saw her as an emotionless slave-driver, it was all just a front. For a start, she had plenty of emotions and many-a-times she desired nothing more than to express and share them with everybody; to one person in particular.

The only reason she kept all these feelings 'bottled up' within her was because of her past. Her difficult times as a child, followed by her Itako training with Yoh's grandmother, led her to believe that feelings and emotions were merely barriers that complicated and held you up in life. For over ten years she was like that, until one day when she met someone that would change her life; and that person was Yoh Asakura.

Never had she met someone who expressed so much joy and happiness with the world. He was her exact opposite, how could she have been chosen to be engaged to this guy? Over time she guessed that she had simply been chosen to train Yoh and get him into shape in time for the Shaman Tournament. With the prospect of an easy life as the wife of the Shaman King, she was willing to put up with the guy and even marry him; yet as time passed, things changed.

Despite her strenuous training and harsh moments with him, he refused to stop smiling and was always nice to her. This in turn was having an effect on her. She began to feel concern for Yoh, that she was over-working him and also felt warmth within her when he was with her; and then one night it hit her like lightning. She was falling in love with him. Somehow she felt that Yoh's grandparents knew about this and was way they had decided to have the two of them engaged to one another.

Despite this, she felt she had a reputation to uphold and so despite a few rare occurrences, when she was alone or with Yoh, she acted as she had always been; but for how much longer?

Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the sound of footsteps along the stone path at the front of the house. The front door slid open as the object of her thoughts walked in. He turned and immediately noticed his fiancé standing there, glaring at him sharply with her hands crossed across her chest. She was not a happy bunny.

"You're late!" she snapped.

"I know, I'm sorry but the sunset was so beautiful."

She rolled her eyes "that's been your excuse four times this week, it must be some sun."

"Then why don't you watch it with me some time" he smirked.

Anna froze for a few seconds and couldn't help but blush slightly. The thought of watching the sun set with Yoh by her side was too romantic to contemplate. This was bringing back thoughts of past fantasies and dreams.

Yoh blinked at the day-dreaming blonde wondering what was happening.

"Anna? You okay?"

She quickly snapped out of it, looked at Yoh and then glared and turned away towards the living room. "My life is too busy for me to waste time on some cemetery cliff. Besides, the last thing this household needs is another slacker."

Yoh laughed "I see your point, well my offer still stands."

Anna quickened her pace as the blush returned to her face. Then she called out to him "Yoh, can you go check the mail? The mailman was late."

"Sure Anna."

The young man casually walked out to the front gate of their house to the wooden mail-box and opened it up. He pulled out the multiple pieces of mail and began to browse through them:

"Bills, bills, junk mail, hey a CD catalogue! More bills, Anna's magazines and hey, what's this?"

The last piece of mail was a small white envelope with a swirling blue pattern around the edge. He looked at the stamp and noticed it was from Hokkaido in Northern Japan.

"I wonder if it could it be from...?"

Yoh carefully, yet hurriedly, opened the letter and began to read it. He began to smile as he continued to read through it and laughed at its conclusion.

"That is so like him."

Yoh picked up the rest of the mail from the table and made his way into the living room. Inside he found Anna sitting on the sofa reading a book whilst eating some crackers.

"Mail's here" he called out.

Moving only her eyes, she looked up from her book for a few seconds and then back down again; "anything for me?"

He handed her the magazines, then eyed the bills; "you wanna deal with these?"

Again, she merely looked up and glared at him before returning to her book.

Yoh smiled, "I think I'll handle them. Oh by the way, we got a letter from an old northern friend.

For the third time, Anna looked up from her book; though this time she had a confused look.

"_A northern friend" _she thought to herself, _"what sort of friend is he......oh no!"_

Yoh noticed from Anna's expressions that she had figured out who it was who sent the letter, much to her displeasure. "Its Horo Horo's eighteenth birthday in a week's time, and he's inviting us up to his village to celebrate."

He turned back to her expecting a reply, but none came.

"Anna..."

"I heard you the first time Yoh" she retorted.

Yoh was taken aback by her tone, yet he continued "so......are we going?"

"Going where?" replied the Itako still fully immersed into her book.

By now Yoh had had enough. He knew that he was gambling with his life here and the chances of receiving at the very least a sharp blow to the head were very high; yet he knew he had to. In a flick of an eye, he took hold of the book and whisked it out of her hands before gently placing it on the coffee table.

Anna was currently in a state of shock with both her hands still in their position from when she was holding the book. Yoh had never done anything of this nature before; and she wasn't exactly gonna let him get away with it. Her body tensed up as she prepared to give Yoh the biggest taste of Hell in his life. Yet before a single muscle could move, Yoh made his. He knelt down right in front of Anna, placed both his arms across her knee-caps and rested his chin atop. His heart-warming smile plastered across his face and his dark brown eyes gazing straight into Anna's.

Her once tense body literally turned to Jelly, followed by what seemed like an electric shock travelled up from her knees and through her. Since she was still accustomed to wearing her short-cut, sleeveless black dress, their skins were in contact with one another. Whilst Yoh didn't seem to have any problem with it, it was of considerable concern to Anna as they had never been this close before despite the fact that he was her fiancé. And yet, she couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth in his touch. All this resulted in her face reddening once again and the worst of it was that it "burnt" so brightly, it was impossible for Yoh to miss and use it to his advantage.

"So Anna...are we going to accept Horo Horo's invite or not?"

Recovering from the initial shock, "Well......I'm not too sure..."

"Oh come on Anna" he interrupted, "it'll be a great time and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too."

She stared at his puppy-dog face, his deep chocolate coloured eyes; she just couldn't refuse.

"Well", she sighed, "I have no trouble with you going, yet I'm not to sure if I should go."

Yoh's eyes widened, "but you've got to come Anna, besides the invite is addressed to both of us."

"It just isn't really my sorta thing, besides I've still got to finalise preparations for the onsen and then there's..."

She found herself being interrupted yet again, this time as Yoh grabbed both her hands and clasped them in between hers. This of course affected her facial colour yet again.

'_At this rate, this guy is gonna cause all my blood to end up in my head' _she said to herself.

"I think everyone else would be happy to see you" he said with pleading eyes. "Besides, you've been so immersed in preparing for the Onsen that you've barely relaxed. This would be just what you need. And besides..." Yoh tilted his head down slightly, "I really want you to go with me. I always feel better when I'm with you, and I feel the night would go more smoothly if you were there with me."

Now there was no way she could refuse, he had smashed the wall of ice that surrounded her; she had to go with him.

"Very well Yoh, I'll go too" she groaned.

Yoh just smiled in reply.

"But listen to this", her tone changing considerably. "I know what these eighteenth birthdays are like, and if you get hammered by some local brew and start making an arse of yourself, you'll be walking home."

Yoh raised his right hand "Shaman's honour; besides, I doubt it's gonna be that sort of party, more of a village celebration. When an Ainu man turns eighteen, the entire village celebrates his coming of age, so I don't think they are going to risk their village being smashed up by a group of drunken teens."

Anna couldn't help but laugh at his comment; he had a good point. "What time do the celebrations begin?" she asked.

Yoh checked the letter, "it says that the festivities start at seven sharp so don't be late."

"It'll be a long drive up to Hokkaido, so I suggest we better leave here a few hours before."

"You wanna drive up there!?" Yoh shouted with surprise.

She eyed him once more, "do you really want me to go?, cos I am sure as hell ain't gonna be travelling on a crowded train and then hiking up to that village of there's."

"Fine, we'll take the car" he groaned. Ever since he obtained his driver's license and got that car, he's had to drive her almost everywhere. Although he had tried to teach her how to drive, and she was actually really good at it, she obviously preferred the idea of having her own personal chauffeur; not that he really minded though. He had promised to her years ago to give her an easy life, and he always kept his promise. It also gave her a chance to spend time with her. This is all he ever had to think about when having to pay for fuel.

"Well, now that that's all sorted out" she said clasping her hands, "I think it's about time you start getting dinner ready."

"But isn't it your turn this evening? I thought we agreed to cook meals on alternating days. Besides," A sly grin crossed his face, "I always thought you looked good in an apron."

Anna didn't know whether to smile or smack him right off her knees, so she did neither; "if you want me to go with you, I'm gonna need some compensation, namely you doing all the cooking for the next week."

He sighed as he recalled that evening, during the months following the return from America at the conclusion of the Shaman Fight almost five years ago, when he was shocked to find her cooking dinner, even after he had bought groceries for himself to cook. Since then, they had agreed to cook meals on alternating days, whilst on Sunday they usually cooked together.

No surprisingly, Sunday was the day he looked forward to the most as it allowed him to be close to her. In fact, he had used it as a chance to get even closer. The amount of flirting that had been taking place during these meal preparations had been constantly increasing every week and only last week, Yoh found himself helping Anna to make pizza dough by standing right behind her, placing his hands over hers and motioning her through each step. Yoh had swallowed an awful lot of courage to try a stunt like that, yet was astonished to find that Anna didn't even flinch. This was just one of numerous signs that their relationship was opening up, and he was determined to just confess that he they weren't just together because of some engagement, but that he truly loved her. However, he still hadn't decided when to do all this.

Yoh looked up at Anna's waiting face, "okay, you win. I'll be the house chef for a whole week.........though can you at least be me assistant on Sunday?" He added the last bit quickly, and shone one of his cheerful smiles in hopes of sealing the deal.

For the umpteenth time that evening, she was mesmerised by his goofy grin and hence in no position to refuse; so she gave him a nod of agreement.

"Great" he cheered. "So, in conclusion of this little conversation, are we going then?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled at his attempts to be entirely sure of everything. "Yes, we're going."

**End Notes**

Well it may have taken almost 3 weeks, but I finally wrote the 1st chapter. I hope to cut it down to one chapter a week.

Well, next time we follow our favourite SK couple as they take the long journey up to Hokkaido. With a journey that long, there must be ways to pass the time. Anna's version of I-Spy is revealed and who would have known a CD could fit in such a small space. All this and more will be revealed in the next chapter:

**Chapter 2: Are we there yet?**


	2. Are We There Yet?

**Author's Note**

Okay, I can only say that I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really……… breathes ……… really, really, really, really, really sorry for taking so long on update 2. I've been just so damn busy all year round, plus I'll admit I forgot about the fic for some time. After finishing watching Shaman King a few months back, I started watching other shows. But now I intend to fulfil my promise and try to finish this story.

**Chapter 2: Are we there yet?**

'_I suppose it isn't just something that happens on T.V._'

These were the words passing through Yoh's mind as he staggered out the front door carrying two large suitcases.

He sighed once again, '_what the hell is she carrying in these things, we're only gonna be up there for one night and I hardly think she's gonna have to change that often; unless there's going to be some sort of traditional female mud wrestling._'

A sly smirk crossed his face, '_of course I got nothing against that, though personally I'd prefer if she just wore her bikini.'_

Sighing yet again, he closed his eyes and entered another one of his past memories; this one of his last trip to the beach two months ago.

The weather had been so warm, that even Anna was willing to go in order to cool down. They had just arrived and he was preparing to jump into the water when he noticed Anna began to take off her black dress. She then revealed her black two-piece bikini with the top part tied around her neck. Yoh was simply gob-smacked by the girl standing before him. He could feel his hormones going into overdrive as he 'surveyed' her entire figure. Most guys would die to have a girl like her with them, and he was engaged to this one.

"Set up the parasol, I'm going for a swim" she ordered.

Yoh slowly nodded and began fulfilling her wishes as she made her way to the shore, with Yoh's eyes following her all the way into the sea. Her grace and beauty was multiplied as she swam in the water. Yoh was just frozen in time as she watched her dive beneath a wave making its way towards the show, then surfacing in a spectacular fashion, kicking her head back as her hair swung back. The water droplets literally sparkled in her presence.

'_She will always be my Venus, my Goddess' _he muttered to himself.

Unbeknownst to Yoh, whilst he was happily resting on the shores of imagination, this entire escapade was being watched by Anna, who had been leaning against the car, waiting for him, for almost five minutes. She snickered whilst watching him sway back and forth, with his eye-lids half open. He did this plenty of times throughout the day and each time, it was always a sign that he wasn't "home" from his trip to the land of make-believe. She always wondered what exactly he was thinking about, but she felt that was for only Yoh to know, unless he told her of course.

"Yoh!" she called, sending him back to the real world.

Yoh stopped swaying and came to. He blinked at her as if wondering where he was.

Anna just rolled her eyes, "are you going to pack those cases or not? If we want to arrive at Snow-boy's village by six O'clock, we have to leave now."

Yoh sweat-dropped, feeling embarrassed at what just happened, and quickly loaded the two suit-cases into the car boot. He then loaded his own luggage into the back-seat, which consisted of nothing more than a black and orange sports-bag, and even it was only around three-quarters full.

"All set" he exclaimed. He eagerly whipped round to the other side of the car and held the door open. "And you thought I'd forget" he grinned to the blonde; who merely remained silent and sat down in the passenger's seat. Part of him had hoped she'd give him a complement for his manners, though he just laughed it off, knowing she was his "mystery girl", and she didn't want her to act any other way.

He sat down in the driver's seat and fastened his seat-belt. Turning to see if she was all set, he found Anna just staring at the rising sun. Anna had insisted on an extremely early start. They had already packed their bags the night before, so all it took was a shower, a quick breakfast and two minutes to get some clothes on. It was only five-thirty in the morning, and that brilliant orange sphere was peering over the horizon, bathing the land in its warmth at the start of a new day.

"Quite a sight isn't it Anna?"

She quickly turned her head towards him, obviously unaware that he had been looking at her.

"Its alright" she said with her usual emotionless tone, "though I've seen the sunrise so many times, I don't see it as anything special."

Yoh gave a small smile and started up the car. He reversed out onto the road and prepped himself.

"Okay!" he exclaimed. Raising his fist out the window he cried, "Hokkaido, here we co… "

"Wait!"

Yoh stopped in mid-sentence, with his hand still raised ready to punch the sky. He turned to see Anna quickly get out of the car door and briskly re-enter the house. He continued staring at the front door through which he had disappeared, with his body still in the exact same position from when she had interrupted him.

Five minutes past and still no sign of her; he still hadn't moved a muscle, apart from the fingers on his other hand, which were impatiently tapping the steering wheel. He finally gave a long sigh as his raised arm drooped down and swayed through the air. He had kept it still for so long, he needed to let his blood circulate through so he could feel and move it again.

Eventually, as he was just starting to regain feeling in his right arm, the door slid open and Anna walked out, locking the door behind her. She slowly walked up the drive and back in to her seat.

"Watcha leave behind Anna?" asked Yoh.

Anna fumbled through her bag. "This" she answered as she pulled out a little spherical wire cage, filled with flower petals, with a string attached to it.

Yoh's face was dumb-struck as he followed the cage with his eyes as Anna hung it on the rear-view mirror.

"That's it?" he exclaimed, "you spent the past fifteen minutes in the house to create a little ornament for the car?"

"Its an air-freshener you baka" she retorted. "The car always has that cheesy-puff and soda smell and I wasn't going to live with that for the next few hours."

Yoh quickly smelt the back of the car, "_I can't smell cheese?_" he thought, "but still, I never expected you to take that long."

Still looking straight ahead, "I had to select the right smell, so I had to go out into the garden and select the flowers that matched my current mood."

Yoh's eyes squinted as he looked at her. "You have different moods? I've only ever really noticed one of them." Although he had meant to say that to himself, Anna could hear him pretty clearly. She quickly turned to him and glared, raising her right eyebrow.

"And what exactly is that mood then eh?...Yoh?"

Yoh's eyes shot opened as he was confronted with this question. He began to stutter, "well……um, you see…"

"No, I don't see" replied Anna. "Please continue."

"Well, that mood '_oh shit, oh shit, what do I say?'"_

Yoh continued to sweat-drop across his entire face as his mind jumbled all over the place, searching for an answer that would avoid any bodily harm.

"Confident!" he shouted with a grin. "You always have a confident mood and that is why you do everything so well"

He continued smiling, though trickles of sweat flowed down his forehead as her glass-shattering gaze remained unchanged. She then unfolded her arms and sighed.

"DON'T HURT ME!" cried Yoh, closing his eyes and placing his arms in a defensive position. However, he hadn't noticed that in doing so, he had removed the steering-wheel from the dash-board.

Anna blinked and stared at the wheel, which Yoh was unknowingly using as a makeshift shield. She tried to suppress it for a few seconds, but she just couldn't and without warning, she let out a weak chuckle, then another.

Yoh slowly opened his eyes. Although he was quick to notice the wheel, it was these sounds that were peaking his interest, or the fact they were coming from Anna. Before he knew it, she burst out laughing. Yoh was taken aback, he had never seen her like this. She was laughing loudly, wrapping one arm around her stomach in a feabil attempt to withhold her laughter, whilst her other was pointing at the disconnect car-part in Yoh's hands.

Upon taking a closer look, Yoh had finally realised what he had done and what was making his fiancée break into a feat of hysteria. Soon, he too began to feel like laughing and before he knew it, he too was laughing along with her, waving the steering wheel about.

Despite her excessive laughter, Anna was still able to talk; "of all the crazy things HAH HAH! that can happen in a car HAH HAH, only you can come up with something like this…"

"What can I say Anna" he said in between his laughs, "I got a hidden talent."

"Yeah, a talent of screwing things up" she added.

Yoh just shrugged and continued laughing.

Anna then spoke up once again, though she was still letting out laughs; "you know Yoh, there is one other funny thing about all this."

"What?"

Her laughs began to subside, "when I see everyone else's reactions up in Hokkaido that because you took too long to fix the wheel, that I had to send you by mail to avoid the train fare."

Yoh's laughing stopped in a heart-beat as he heard her final words and in a flash, was rummaging through the boot searching for the car tool-kit. He then returned to driver's seat, tool-kit in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, and began searching for the right tools. Every now and again, he would make a quick glance towards Anna. She was still laughing from the previous escapade, though they were becoming weaker by the second, and he knew that once she stopped, he would find himself in a cardboard box without a fragile stamp. These thoughts only made him move faster.

"_At this rate my hands are gonna break the sound barrier! Hammer? No……screwdriver? No…."_

Each time he brought out the incorrect tool, he threw it into the back seat. He looked up again to check on Anna, her smile had almost disappeared.

"_Oh crap! I gotta find it now or I'll be the first guy to be shoved through a letterbox. What about this?...I have absolutely no idea what the hell this is, but no………AHA here it is!"_

With the correct tool in hand he began to reattach the steering wheel. With his travelling comfort on the line, it didn't take him long to fix it. He then threw the tool-kit into the back seat with the rest of the tools, literally dived into the driver's seat, buckled up and started the engine.

"All set!" He turned to Anna and noticed her usual emotionless expression, had just 'reformed' on her face. "So lets get on the road; Hokkaido, NOW here we come!"

They had been driving for almost four hours, and Anna was getting bored just sitting there watching telephone poles and street-light pass by every few seconds. Whilst they were making good progress, due to her early wake-up call, it would still take around another two hours before they'd arrive in Hokkaido. She looked over towards Yoh. The guy was glued to the wheel as he drove. Although he was a good driver, one could always tell that just by looking at him that he was always a tad nervous when on the road.

She smiled, for someone so care free and full of life, she always expected Yoh to be a natural behind the wheel. Don't get her wrong, he definitely was. He had seen him pull off some incredible moves whilst driving and had yet to receive so much as a bump to the car. Its just that she had expected him to almost become one with it and spend hours driving through the countryside with his friends; but no. He only ever drove it when he needed to or was asked, usually by her.

Whenever she wanted to go somewhere, if he was around, he would always drag him along so he could drive. Although Yoh did give her driving lessons, and she passed her test with flying colours and a record minimum number of lessons, she always insisted that he do the driving. This way, she would be able to spend time with him, yet be able to hide this fact.

He then turned briefly towards her and smiled. With his eyes now back on the road he reassured her, "no need to worry about me honey, I'm fine driving the rest of the way."

"_Honey?_" thought Anna. That's a phrase a husband says to his wife, or at the very least between a dating couple. Of course, they were engaged and hence further up the 'ladder'; but since it was an arranged marriage it wasn't really the same…was it?

"How about some music?" Yoh asked as he fiddled with the car CD player.

The CD player loaded up and began playing. Anna groaned, yet she wasn't surprised; it was one of Yoh's Bob CDs. "_What exactly is there to like about this guy's music_" she thought. He had liked him ever since he was a kid, yet no one else in his family did. This was the reason why on his third birthday, they gave him those famous orange headphones. Those things had survived countless shaman fights and still seemed brand new; and even as he moved from records to CDs and finally digital music, he always refused to listen his music on anything else…except in the car of course.

And that it what was getting on Anna's nerves. The fact that she had to listen to this _shit_ (to put it frankly). However, seeing Yoh happily swaying his head and tapping the steering-wheel in rhythm, made Anna do something she never expected herself to do. She decided to sit through it and let Yoh enjoy himself at her own expense. "_What is it about this guy that makes me so weak?_"

Twenty minutes later

Anna's head was beginning to pound. She had been listening to this crap long enough; and her 'pain' was transforming into frustration. Luckily for her, she had discovered that Yoh had installed a CD changer in the car, and had replaced one of his CDs with one of her own.

With a quick flick of a switch, the music stopped and within seconds, the music she desired was "released" from the loudspeakers.

Yoh, who was driving to the beat of his now removed music, swung the car to the right onto the adjacent lane. As he struggled to regain control of the car, Anna was just staring out the window with her arms crossed listening to the music, oblivious to the fact that her life was in Yoh's driving abilities.

Finally, he regained control, grateful that there weren't any other cars on the open road at this time.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US BOTH!"

Anna barely reacted to Yoh's outburst.

"I was getting tired of your music, so I thought I'd put something a bit more soothing. Besides, you seemed to be concentrating on your driving."

Yoh huffed, "yeah, it was the music that was helping me concentrate."

"Well, you'd had it on long enough, I think I had suffered enough" she retorted with a slight tinge of force.

Yoh was not impressed by her remark, "Oh? So you were suffering having to listen to my music? Well I think you would have suffered a lot more if I'd hit a lamp-post or something. You could have just asked to change it."

Anna just kept quiet.

Yoh sighed and kept on driving but after a few minutes, the wailing sound of the music was driving him insane.

"Anna!" he cried, "this is driving me nuts, I mean its alright at home when I have my headphones, but here…its just too much."

"Now you know how I felt" she replied.

But Yoh wasn't having it any more and he pressed a button on the dashboard, changing the CD back to his own; that was mistake number one.

For a millisecond, Anna was planning to teach Yoh a lesson he'd never forget for no one, absolutely no one turned off Anna Kyouyama's music, no one. Yet restraint soon came over her, and she instead chose a far less violent method.

"Why did you do that?" she questioned sternly.

Yoh sighed, "look, I know your not too keen on my music, but I would have gladly turned it off. But I think after surviving a near death experience, no thanks to you, I deserve something to calm my nerves.

Mistake number two, he was trying to make her feel guilty.

Anna merely looked at Yoh, who's eyes remained on the road. She then once again changed the CD. Yoh quickly flicked his switch again, and so did Anna, and him again. For around 30 seconds the music wailed from the two CDs as the two teens "wrestled" as to which CD would play. Yoh had then had enough.

"LISTEN! I'm DRIVING AND HENCE I'm IN CHARGE! WHAT I SAY IN THIS CAR GOES OK!"

Mistake number three, Mutiny! Anna had had enough. She raised her right hand, gripped her fingers to form her fist……and slammed it straight……into the CD player's eject button.

The machine made a weird noise, concerning Yoh who moved in for a closer look. Then, without warning, his CD fired out.

"GGGGAAAARRRGH!"

Anna was taken aback by the odd sound he had heard from the driver's seat and turned her head. Whilst her facial expression remained the same, she was actually surprised at what she saw. The CD had lodged itself within Yoh's mouth.

"I always said your mouth was too big."

Her comment did not impress Yoh, you quickly spat the CD out. He turned to give her another telling off but paused when he realised what he had just done. Yoh quickly swung his head towards the open window that he had just inadvertedly spat out his CD. He stuck his head out and looked back down the road, just in time to see his CD rolling like a wheel into the distance.

"AAARRGGHH, MY CD!"

He slowly brought his teary-eyed face back into the car.

"I only bought it last week" he murmured.

At that point, he wanted nothing more than to give Anna the biggest piece of his mind. He then concluded that he had suffered enough already, and so decided to forget about it. He just lay in his seat and sighed, _"Can't we ever have a calm road trip?_"

2 hours later

Time had sure passed, yet neither had said a word to each other since the CD incident. Yoh had in fact forgotten all about it. Instead, he was worried about Anna, hoping she wasn't still angry at him. Whilst he still felt that it was just as much her fault as it was his, he knew that as the guy, accepting the blame was part of the job.

"I'm sorry about before" he said with concern in his voice, "I know I should have checked whether you were okay with the music in the first place."

Yoh was getting worried that she was still mad after she failed to answer him for almost 5 seconds; but then she lowered her head, closed her eyes and spoke: "Its okay……and I'm sorry for loosing your CD, we'll replace it once we get home."

Yoh was left in near shock, she had apologised to him! He only wish he had a tape-recorder to capture this momentous occasion.

His eyes then returned to the road, as he admired the beautiful Japanese countryside.

"Hey, how bout a game of I-Spy to pass the time" he exclaimed with child-like enthusiasm.

Anna pondered for a while, yet decided to play along; "Sure."

Yoh smiled, "great!" He eagerly began scowring the surroundings for a something.

"Hmmmmm? No……how about….No……Ah! I spy with my little eye, something beginning with F."

"Fence."

Anna's answer came back with almost no time-delay, leaving a surprised Yoh. He knew he had to do better.

"Okay……something beginning with……T."

"Trail."

Once again, she answered correctly in no time at all. Now Yoh was desperate 

"Beginning with B"

"H"

"Hedges"

"P"

"Power Lines"

"R?"

"River"

"G?"

"Grass"

Each time Yoh said a letter, Anna figured out the answer within milliseconds; pretty soon Yoh was all out of words.

"Okay Anna" he sighed, "how about you have ago, I'm probably gonna get a headache trying to think up words so quickly If this keeps up."

"Anna slowly looked around for around a minute before saying, "something beginning with A."

"With A…" Yoh said. He began looking around for what it could be.

"Is it arrow?" He pointed to an approaching turn-off sign.

"No" she replied.

Yoh continued his search.

"How about………Asphalt?"

"No"

"Accelerator?"

"No"

"Atmosphere?"

"No"

Yoh was once again reaching boiling point. First she took the fun out of the game, now it was just becoming frustrating. He continued looking around until his eyes fell on her. He gave a small smirk and then without any warning, blurted out in a low, yet suave voice.

"Angel?"

Anna's eyes shot open and turned to him.

"Excuse me!" she exclaimed.

Yoh' face turned from one of bliss to one of fear when his brain finally clicked at what he had just said. He hurriedly looked around thinking of what to say.

"I…um…that is….what I meant………was…………Anvil!"

Anna lowered one of her eyebrows, showing that she was neither impressed nor convinced by Yoh's odd answer.

"Anvil?"

Yoh smiled and pointed back out of the rear of the car back down the road, "we just passed a blacksmiths and the guy was working on an anvil".

Whilst it wasn't impossible for there to be a blacksmiths out here in the countryside, his little lie seemed to have worked at convincing Anna, barely. She had turned away from him once again, allowing him to relax.

'_I'm taking way too many risks today_' he thought.

At that moment, he saw a turn-off sign. Whilst squinting his eyes due to the distance, he soon made it out as Hokkaido.

"There it is!" he shouted, we're almost there, '_and I'm still in_ one piece_' _he added in thought.

**End Notes**

Having arrived in Hokkaido, Yoh and Anna meet up with many old friends, and make a few new ones in the process. As the evening comes, the celebrations really kick into full swing with Yoh taking full advantage of the festivities. But when Anna proves herself in a traditional challenge, she'll be ensuring this is one party Yoh will never forget……well perhaps.

**Chapter 3: Lets Get this Party Started!**


End file.
